Originally posted on sciy.org by Ron Anastasia on Fri 24 Aug 2007 11:11 AM PDT
Burning Man 2006 satellite view. (~ 40,000 participants)
Well, I'm off to Burning Man 2007 tomorrow (Saturday) and will be pretty much out of touch with SCIY (no phones or Internet access out there on the remote playa). Rumors are that this year's festival will be the biggest in its 18 years, even more than the record 40,000 last year. This is truly a remarkable experience when you realize that all the infrastructure for a self-contained international city is literally created by volunteers out of nothing in a few days on a remote, barren, hot, dry, lifeless desert playa in remote Nevada. (The site is a prehistoric lakebed, composed of a hardpan alkali of gritty particles that create total whiteouts during the frequent windstorms.) It's fully populated for a week, and then completely dismantled, in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management regulations for use of the site, with no evidence of it having been there, not even a flake of glitter!
I'll be participating as part of the Resonance Project Foundation group from the Big Island of Hawaii, and located on the periphery of the Entheon Village campsite. This will be my second BM event; my first was in 2004, where I shared a motor home with Michael Gosney (Founder of the Green Century Institute and the annual San Francisco Digital Be-in events). (Though Michael's formal background is in architecture and digital publishing, he's often known these days as "DJ Goz.") Michael and I were Co-directors of the 6-year Paradox Conference series at Paolo Soleri's Arcosanti in Arizona.
Conditions at the Black Rock mesa site are looking to be a productive and fun challenge this year. I say "productive and fun" because I've noticed that adverse physical conditions in a psychosocial context like Burning Man can often lead to an inspiring sense of community as folks work together to deal with the environmental challenges. I've included below a recent weather report from one of the hardy volunteers there now who are building the basic infrastructure.
Wish me luck, 🙂
~ ron
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Black Rock .. .DUST !!!!
Hey everyone, I've been on the Playa for 2 weeks now and I just wanted to give some advice to anyone coming out for the event. We have had MAJOR dust storms as the playa is powder fine this year. Of the past 4 days, 3 have had white out dust storms lasting anywhere from a few hours to all day long. All the people coming in will only add to this, so be prepared for some intense weather out here. Bring lots of bandanas, extra goggles, dust proof your tent before you get out here, be prepared for longer set ups and long lines at the gate.
BRC Playa weather
Greetings from the playa where I am happy and well and holded up in my car. I dont want this to deter anyone from coming, as it's still a blast - but..batten down the hatches kids, cause the wind is the worst I've seen in the 12 years I have been coming here. For those of you around when the big wind hit last year and took our camp down, that is the way it has been the bulk of the time - really that windy, mostly non stop. The airstream is shaking and rocking and my tent is tied to every rack and bumper and hitch the truck & airstream have, and I'm still unsure if it's going to hold up (one pole already snapped). The white out's are lasting a long time, some well over 5 hours. I hear it has been like this for weeks, dont know if it will continue through the event.
But the green man is about nature, so be prepared for the force of nature to remind us how small we are! The good news is that it's warm thus far, even in the middle of the night. However, the garage tents around here seem to be holding up when they have no walls & are tied down every few feet - who knows, maybe the wind will subside. in case it doesnt, i suggest that if you are debating between a tent or a van/suv, you pick the car. be sure to put everything in bins that have locking lids, and in ziplocks inside those. if your tent has any open netting areas that do not zip closed with a solid fabric, i suggest glue gunning a fabric onto them, closing them up permanently, before you come here (fabric on the outside of the tent, so it's between the tent & the rainfly).you can always cut it off later. mine has a few open ones and theres a good 1/8 inch layer of dust inside, on top of the bed, the floors, everywhere. had to sleep with dust mask last night. too much to keep up with & too late to close them off. the wind/dust is coming from the same direction as always so be sure to park your cars in a way that blocks it from anything you put up. and lots of bungees, ive been through 20 just for my tent. phil - great decision in sleeping in the rider truck.
I think that is all to tell - just a whole lot of wind. will update you if it stops. am still having a total blast, the wind is part of the fun for sure, and look forward to seeing you'll in a week!
PS - wind reminders -fully enclosed goggles for day & night (not only dark ones), things that light up so u can be seen, bungees, rope, 2 ft long reebar - more than you think you need, heavy lotion, lip stuff, babywipes, giant sheet or tarp or something to cover all the stuff in your tent (to stop dust from getting into your bed), and lots of soft towels - more than you think you need. xx
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